RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The country’s volatile politics is finding expression this spring in party primary elections to narrow down the races for the 170 seats in North Carolina’s General Assembly.
In past cycles, dozens of state legislators signed up to run but didn’t face a primary opponent, a challenger in the November general elections, or both - sailing into a two-year, part-time job deciding who to favor with new laws, or whom and how much to tax.
Not this year.
Ahead of primary elections being held Tuesday, a number of retirements after court-ordered redistricting means there are a dozen open seats this year. Nearly three dozen other Democratic or Republican incumbents are being challenged within their party. And President Donald Trump stands as a neon marker for partisans pledging support or opposition to his policies.
“I think that the national political environment is reflected here in North Carolina in that it does feel very unsettled, and that may be a factor in spurring some individuals to run for office, even against incumbents,” said Jonathan Kappler, executive director of North Carolina Free Enterprise Foundation, which tracks state politics for business leaders.
Despite the volatile politics of the moment, Kappler expects that with the primaries lacking any elections for statewide office or marquee issues, it will be a low-turnout affair.
One big wrinkle will be the mid-decade redistricting mandated after federal judges found Republican legislators illegally designed voting districts with racial bias in order to favor themselves. The resulting legislative map rewrite means two sets of GOP senators will be forced to run against colleagues next week.
In one mountain district along the Virginia border, Sens. Deanna Ballard and Shirley Randleman must face off. Elsewhere, Sen. Joyce Krawiec of Forsyth County is matched against Sen. Dan Barrett, who was appointed to his seat representing Davie and Iredell counties after last year’s long legislative session. Biochemistry professor Peter Antinozzi is also in that GOP primary.
The most highly watched primaries will be in and around Charlotte and Raleigh. Those are the likely battlegrounds deciding whether, after November, Republicans keep veto-proof majorities that have realized a conservative agenda on taxes, education and social issues.
In Charlotte, Republican Beth Monaghan is challenging Sen. Dan Bishop over his sponsorship and promotion of House Bill 2. Monaghan has a gay son, and she attacks the social conservative standard-bearer Bishop for abandoning Republican values of limited government and individual dignity with the 2016 law, which limited the rights of gay and transgender people.
On the Democratic side, Charlotte Sen. Joel Ford is being criticized for sometimes voting with the Republican majority. Last summer’s state budget is one example.
Ford said he’s adapting to political reality to bring home benefits, but he’s facing four challengers. They include Roderick Davis, who came close to toppling him in the 2016 primary, and assistant public defender Mujtaba Mohammed. He’s a former county Democratic leader who is endorsed by the Black Political Caucus in a heavily black district.
In Raleigh, Democrats will choose between an incumbent facing sexual harassment allegations, Duane Hall, and first-time female candidate Allison Dahle. Hall has strongly denied the allegations, but top Democrats called for him to step down.
Another feature in next week’s primary is that the court-ordered reshuffling of legislative district lines has created opportunities for local office-holders to challenge incumbents in six districts along the coast, Sandhills and western Piedmont.
“Districts that have been altered substantially,” Kappler said, create “a situation where a challenger has more opportunity to credibly challenge an incumbent.”
___
Follow Emery P. Dalesio on Twitter at http://twitter.com/emerydalesio. His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/emery%20dalesio
Please read our comment policy before commenting.